The Taos Ski Valley ski area is open for the winter! The whole area is not open yet but there is certainly enough open to please most skiers. We got 6 inches of snow with the last storm and are expecting more snow day after tomorrow. We are going to try to get out as soon as it snows again. There is a chance that we might try either cross-country skiing or snowshoeing with our friends at Wild Earth Llama Adventures.
There were three inches of snow at the Cottonwood Inn Bed and Breakfast which did not please Shantal's chickens - apparently, they don't like to walk around in the snow.
Coming up in town is the lighting of the luminarias and farolitos on Ledoux Street on the 12th of December. This is a wonderful street party with food and drinks at many of the galleries and shops near the historic Ledoux Street area. The Harwood Museum of Art has been involved in this local tradition for the last 10 years.
Plans are still afoot to have torchlight parades at the Taos Ski Valley ski area on Christmas Eve and on New Year's Eve. This is always a fun and popular thing to see. Shantal and I will try to make it back to one of these events this year.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Almost done....
The canning continues here at the Cottonwood Inn. Twelve cases this week-- plums, peaches (which we had frozen a month ago, due to overwhelming volume) & 60 lbs of blackberries my Father picked for me. Yay! Oregon blackberries!! We've got syrup & jam occupying the kitchen. Again. The pantry is full, the atrium is full....
Canning aside, the weather here in Taos has been spectacular. Long-time area locals say the colors have never been so vivid. It has, however, been COLD for this early in the year. Already 6 inches of snow up at Taos Ski Valley! Yeehaw!!!
Lots of birds around this year-- in addition to our 16 yard-birds. We've already started to feed the local population and the suet has gone up, as well as the woodpecker blocks. We're really hoping our flicker will come back this year. Ever since we had the plum trees pruned he has decided to hang out in the front yard, around our giant pine (which could also use a bit of pruning....)
This coming week we will be starting some roof replacement and hope to beat the snows to get it done. Only one smallish segment this time, replacing rain gutters after this year of record rain.
That is the not-so-very-exciting news for this week.
Canning aside, the weather here in Taos has been spectacular. Long-time area locals say the colors have never been so vivid. It has, however, been COLD for this early in the year. Already 6 inches of snow up at Taos Ski Valley! Yeehaw!!!
Lots of birds around this year-- in addition to our 16 yard-birds. We've already started to feed the local population and the suet has gone up, as well as the woodpecker blocks. We're really hoping our flicker will come back this year. Ever since we had the plum trees pruned he has decided to hang out in the front yard, around our giant pine (which could also use a bit of pruning....)
This coming week we will be starting some roof replacement and hope to beat the snows to get it done. Only one smallish segment this time, replacing rain gutters after this year of record rain.
That is the not-so-very-exciting news for this week.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Moist Apple Buttermilk Bread
This is a new recipe I tried because of the billions of pounds of apples we have this year (okay, maybe a SLIGHT exaggeration). I pretty much followed this recipe to the "T" as far as ingredients go. However, I let the butter/sugar mixture sit for about 45 minutes, stirring intermittently. I learned that little trick from a recipe in Cook's Illustrated, which claimed that this allows for a caramelizing to take place which lends a richer taste and moister product. I believe it works and use it when making any dessert bread and also with some cookies.
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups apples (I used what I had-- I don't know what kind we have on the trees, but they are very sweet) chopped & cored (I leave the peels on as I think it improves the taste)
1/2 cup nuts
1 teaspoon orange zest
Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.
Cream butter and both sugars (let sit if you like, stirring every 10 minutes for 30 minutes or so)
Add eggs to creamed mixture, beating well after each addition.
Alternate adding buttermilk and flour mixture to sugar/butter/egg mix.
Stir in apples, nuts, and zest.
pour into two greased and floured loaf pans (pick larger pans for a smaller slice and smaller pans for a taller slice)
Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes, until knife inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. Invert onto wire rack and cool before storing. Freezes well, wrap in parchment before wrapping in foil.
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups apples (I used what I had-- I don't know what kind we have on the trees, but they are very sweet) chopped & cored (I leave the peels on as I think it improves the taste)
1/2 cup nuts
1 teaspoon orange zest
Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.
Cream butter and both sugars (let sit if you like, stirring every 10 minutes for 30 minutes or so)
Add eggs to creamed mixture, beating well after each addition.
Alternate adding buttermilk and flour mixture to sugar/butter/egg mix.
Stir in apples, nuts, and zest.
pour into two greased and floured loaf pans (pick larger pans for a smaller slice and smaller pans for a taller slice)
Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes, until knife inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. Invert onto wire rack and cool before storing. Freezes well, wrap in parchment before wrapping in foil.
Fabulous French Toast and Moist Apple Bread Recipes
Here is the recipe for Caramelized French Toast-- I probably get more requests for this recipe than almost anything else (except Tarragon Eggs, which I've also posted). This is a very EASY recipe and good if you have to serve a crowd and only have the basics at hand.
Serves 6
Bake at 400 for about 20-25 minutes
Use 9 X 13 pyrex pan
Mix together:
6 eggs
1 cup half and half (No, DON'T substitute 1/2 percent milk because it won't taste as good!)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
Use old french bread, cut if necessary or used sliced. I never take the crusts off, I like the crunchy bits you get with a crust.
In pyrex layer the following:
1/4 cup melted UNsalted butter
1 cup loosely packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white corn syrup (dark will work also, you'll just get a heavier taste)
1/4 cup chopped nuts
Dip your bread in the egg mixture and layer evenly across pyrex.
Pour any additional egg mixture over layered bread and bake until the mix is golden and bubbly.
Serve with heavy whipped cream and some sliced fruit on top for the best result. Mmmmmmm!
Serves 6
Bake at 400 for about 20-25 minutes
Use 9 X 13 pyrex pan
Mix together:
6 eggs
1 cup half and half (No, DON'T substitute 1/2 percent milk because it won't taste as good!)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
Use old french bread, cut if necessary or used sliced. I never take the crusts off, I like the crunchy bits you get with a crust.
In pyrex layer the following:
1/4 cup melted UNsalted butter
1 cup loosely packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white corn syrup (dark will work also, you'll just get a heavier taste)
1/4 cup chopped nuts
Dip your bread in the egg mixture and layer evenly across pyrex.
Pour any additional egg mixture over layered bread and bake until the mix is golden and bubbly.
Serve with heavy whipped cream and some sliced fruit on top for the best result. Mmmmmmm!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Busy, busy, busy.... A bit of news and some recipes
September was the busiest month this year at the Cottonwood Inn-- we had visitors from as far away as Japan, and as close as Arroyo Seco (only 2 miles!). The weather was gorgeous here until a sneak freeze last week surprised everyone in the Taos area. That took all the dahlias, and another freeze a couple of days ago took everything else (the BEAUTIFUL Virginia Creeper is toast!!!).
The good news is that the pears are ready-- apparently pears need a good freeze to send them on their way to ripening. This morning I made 1.5 cases of a poached pear recipe I found in the NYT a little while ago. The recipe uses apple cider, red wine, peppercorns, & bay leaves, among other things, to flavor the syrup. Before serving you open your jar of pears and pour off the syrup and reduce the syrup in a saucepan before pouring back over your poached pears. I will post a result on this recipe once I've had a chance to try the finished product (the syrup was pretty good already).
The Taos Wool Festival is over for another year. It was fantastic as usual, even though I never did get up the nerve to buy myself a pair of rabbits. Brantly decided to approach rabbit acquisition scientifically, so we will be doing MUCH more research about the feasibility of raising rabbits with my chickens....
A great crowd this past weekend with a few recipe requests. The first is for the Cottonwood Inn Ginger Snaps. I use fresh-ground cloves in mine, which makes them quite a bit "snappier" than most types of ginger snap.
Oven 375
about 4 dozen
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cup flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. ground ginger
Cream the butter and sugar and add egg. Mix remaining ingredients together and then add to butter mix. Bake 8-11 minutes, depending on how crisp you like your cookies. For the best treat in the universe, sandwich some cream cheese between two cookies!
The good news is that the pears are ready-- apparently pears need a good freeze to send them on their way to ripening. This morning I made 1.5 cases of a poached pear recipe I found in the NYT a little while ago. The recipe uses apple cider, red wine, peppercorns, & bay leaves, among other things, to flavor the syrup. Before serving you open your jar of pears and pour off the syrup and reduce the syrup in a saucepan before pouring back over your poached pears. I will post a result on this recipe once I've had a chance to try the finished product (the syrup was pretty good already).
The Taos Wool Festival is over for another year. It was fantastic as usual, even though I never did get up the nerve to buy myself a pair of rabbits. Brantly decided to approach rabbit acquisition scientifically, so we will be doing MUCH more research about the feasibility of raising rabbits with my chickens....
A great crowd this past weekend with a few recipe requests. The first is for the Cottonwood Inn Ginger Snaps. I use fresh-ground cloves in mine, which makes them quite a bit "snappier" than most types of ginger snap.
Oven 375
about 4 dozen
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cup flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. ground ginger
Cream the butter and sugar and add egg. Mix remaining ingredients together and then add to butter mix. Bake 8-11 minutes, depending on how crisp you like your cookies. For the best treat in the universe, sandwich some cream cheese between two cookies!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
30 degrees in September!
Yes, I was out until the crack of dawn covering dahlias last night-- at least we had some warning of the temperature drop and were able to save the flowers and tomatoes.
The Taos Fiber Festival is only 2 weeks away!!! Of all the Taos festivals (and there are MANY) this is, in my humble opinion, the best. Of course I've hardly touched the many bags of wool I bought LAST year, but, hey-- IT'S ALL MINE! I plan on adding greatly to my stash this year, again.
Not only can you get wool at the festival, but you can get it in many forms-- felt, yarn, roving, woven and knitted and crocheted goods. You can also get LIVE rabbits! (Brantly doesn't know it yet, but we are getting two). I also bought a fabulous pair of hand-made sheepskin slippers from a family from Colorado. They had rugs, shoes, and slippers that were warm and stylish.
So, if you have a chance to get up here, make it here for the Taos Fiber Festival this October 2-3, 2009.
The Taos Fiber Festival is only 2 weeks away!!! Of all the Taos festivals (and there are MANY) this is, in my humble opinion, the best. Of course I've hardly touched the many bags of wool I bought LAST year, but, hey-- IT'S ALL MINE! I plan on adding greatly to my stash this year, again.
Not only can you get wool at the festival, but you can get it in many forms-- felt, yarn, roving, woven and knitted and crocheted goods. You can also get LIVE rabbits! (Brantly doesn't know it yet, but we are getting two). I also bought a fabulous pair of hand-made sheepskin slippers from a family from Colorado. They had rugs, shoes, and slippers that were warm and stylish.
So, if you have a chance to get up here, make it here for the Taos Fiber Festival this October 2-3, 2009.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Midnight hike to Williams Lake!
Get up here if you can-- this Friday, September 4th, is the annual midnight hike up to Williams Lake. The hike is about 2.5 miles each way and is considered moderate. It will be beautiful, so make it if you can.
Done with the plum syrup over here at the Cottonwood Inn, as well as 60 lbs of Hatch Green Chili-- not made into syrup, just roasted, peeled and bagged for the dining pleasure of our guests.
Next on the list is the rest of the plums and some plum marmalade.
The hummers are still here, but not in the force they were last month. I've dropped to just a quart or two per day.
We're booked up this weekend and looking forward to meeting a new batch of interesting folks.
Done with the plum syrup over here at the Cottonwood Inn, as well as 60 lbs of Hatch Green Chili-- not made into syrup, just roasted, peeled and bagged for the dining pleasure of our guests.
Next on the list is the rest of the plums and some plum marmalade.
The hummers are still here, but not in the force they were last month. I've dropped to just a quart or two per day.
We're booked up this weekend and looking forward to meeting a new batch of interesting folks.
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